Posts Tagged ‘less-lethal’

The cops can’t say TASER, but I can: TASER TASER TASER. (I can also say band aid and realtor.)

There are only 100 seats, so these free meetings will sell out, and maybe the first one already has, but IDK because I can’t get to the evite page. But you can, Gentle Reader, I’m sure of it. You’re very clever.

“Community Input on CEDs (Conducted Energy Device)

Tue, Sep 12, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 99 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA

The San Francisco Police Commission along with the SFPD and with the facilitation support of the Human Right’s Commission is inviting community members to weigh in, ask questions, share perspectives and voice concerns about whether CEDs (Conducted Energy Devices, also known as Tasers) should be considered as a force option for the Police Department. The meetings are also a platform to provide input on the draft policy (http://sanfranciscopolice.org/sites/default/files/Documents/PoliceCommission/police-commission-CED%20policy%20draft%20dated%2008%3A25%3A17%20%28%22clean%20version%29.pdf) to be presented for discussion at a future Police Commission meeting. We will have two meetings. First meeting is: Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6pm- 8 pm @Bill Graham Auditorium, 99 Grove (http:/ /evite .me/kS846TMa7q) Because of the capacity limitations of this space, we ask those interested to register via Evite. For safety, we are limited to 100 attendees and will accept comments, feedback, questions and concerns by email sfpd.commission@sfgov.org or via the Commission’s Facebook and/or Twitter.

“Back in 1996, I was working at the intersection of 2nd & Market. Each and every day the man pictured above would walk by my shop, wave a loaf of sourdough in my face, and scream obscenities about the San Francisco 49’ers.”

Let’s find out, courtesy of footage of Tom at an Oakland A’s game last year. Is this a proper use of a Taser? I don’t know. It ended up being a time-saver for the cops, certainly. Would they have felt justified in shooting Tom with bullets at that moment? Obviously not. The question after any Taser discharge is what would you have done if you didn’t have the Taser, right?

So why shouldn’t the SFPD have Tasers? We already trust them with handguns and assault rifles, right? We’ll end up with a few more lawsuits but with fewer dead civilians. Sounds like a win, overall.

And finally, let’s hear from the RAND Coporation. They pondered the use of Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs) for the NYPD and had this to say:

“Our key less-than-lethal force recommendations:

We reviewed reports of about 455 NYPD shootings from 2004 to 2006 and identified 25 cases where we judged that had a less-lethal weapon been available, officers may have used it to subdue suspects instead of using their handguns.

We also note that when other departments have deployed Conducted Energy Devices or CEDs, commonly known by the brand name TASER, injuries to both suspects and officers have declined.

We recognize that some groups have criticized the deployment of CEDs, raising issues of safety, overuse, and misuse. As such we recommend that the NYPD undertake a pilot program for the deployment of CEDs.

Such a program should allow patrol officers in selected precincts to be trained and equipped with CEDs that can incapacitate suspects from a distance. We believe there is evidence that if NYPD officers had access to this device, some number of officer-involved shootings could be avoided, and injuries to both suspects and police officers will decline. A carefully designed pilot program conducted over six to 12 months in a few select precincts would give the department enough information to determine whether the devices would alter the way the NYPD officers apply force and whether the weapons could be used properly.”